List of legally mononymous people explained

This is a list of notable people whose full legal name is (or was) a mononym, either by name change or by being born mononymic (e.g. Burmese, Indonesian, or Japanese royalty). Titles (e.g. Burmese honorifics) do not count against inclusion, because they are not part of the name itself.

This list does not include people who are mononymous only as a stage name, pen name/pseudonym, in certain contexts, or by dint of fame.

Reason!scope="col"
SourceMononymTitle(s)Other nameBornDiedDescriptionRef.
Birth Japanese royalty Princess Toshi 2001 -
Birth Japanese royalty 1933 - former Emperor of Japan (abdicated 2019)
Birth Burmese 1887 1963 Burmese president and Supreme Court justice
Birth Nepali -
Birth Arakanese royalty 1493 1554 King of Arakan in Myanmar from 1531 to 1554
Birth Indonesian 1943 -
Name change Cherilyn Sarkisian 1946 - American singer and actress [1] [2] [3]
Name change Joan Marie Laurer 1970 2016 American professional wrestler and actress [4]
Name change religious Laurence Carroll 1856 1914
Name change promotion Mitch Maddox American computer specialist; changed to mononym as promotion, later reverted to birth name
Birth Japanese royalty Prince Akishino 1965 -
Name change religious Nyi Nyi Lwin 1979 -
Birth Indian 1932 - Indian-American biochemist
Birth Japanese royalty Emperor Shōwa 1901 1989
Birth Vietnamese 1998 - footballer of Sedang ethnic [5]
Name change Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri 1983-Indian-British-Canadian director, photographer, girls' empowerment activist and author [6]
Name change American William Jarvis III 1982- American Financier
Name change Sean Hape 1968 - Australian musician and actor
Birth Burmese 1538 senior minister at the court of King Takayutpi of Hanthawaddy
Birth Australian aboriginal 1910 2018 Australian aboriginal artist
Birth Japanese royalty Makoformer Princess Mako Komuro 1991 -
Birth Indian 1956 -
Name change Japanese royalty by marriage Empress Michiko Shōda 1934 - Japanese empress consort
Birth Japanese royalty Emperor 1960 -
Name change Maybyner Rodney Hilario 1982 - Brazilian basketball player
Birth Burmese 1907 1995 leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician
Birth Burmese 1812 1867 Burmee dramatist
Name change transitioning Rebecca Quinn 1995 - Canadian soccer player [7]
Name change religious Chandra Mohan Jain 1931 1990
Name change religious Ram Kisan Yadav 1965 - Indian ayurvedic and yoga practitioner
Birth Pakistani 1930 2013 Pakistani physicist
Name change Burmese Yar Kyaw 1876 1931
Birth Burmese U or Galon U 1900 1948
Name change Efrat Yerushalmi1959-Israeli poet
Birth Indian 1948 - Indian politician who served a full-chief ministerial term of Karnataka from 2013 to 2018
Birth Indonesian 1934 1985 Indonesian director, screenwriter, and actor
Birth Indonesian 1916 1950
Birth Indonesian 1921 2008
Birth Indonesian 1901 1970 former President of Indonesia
Birth Indonesian 1923 c. 1945
Name change Raymond Joseph Teller 1948 - American magician [8]
Birth Burmese 1909 1974
Birth Indonesian 1987 - Indonesian weightlifter and Olympic silver medalist
Birth Mon royalty 1323 1384 King of Hanthawaddy in Myanmar from 1348 to 1384
Name change James Hellwig 1959 2014 American professional wrestler [9] [10]
Name change Rafael Antonio Lozano Jr. 1972 - American software programmer best known for his goal to visit every company-owned Starbucks location in the world; changed name first to John Winter Smith, then to mononym Winter [11]
Name change Kanye Omari West 1977 - American rapper, record producer, and fashion designer [12]
Birth Indian 1944-

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Turning Back Time . Chicago Tribune. 2013-12-09.
  2. 836845856179556352. cher. @KBetter52 I Don't Have A Last name.Went to court...& Let me tell you it wasn't easy.They don't want Ppl running around with no last names . 1 March 2017.
  3. Web site: Cher. IMDb.
  4. Web site: Copy of Name Change Document. 2007-11-07. 2007-11-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211419/http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/1107_chyna_wm.pdf. 2016-03-03. dead.
  5. Web site: Hổ là ai? Vì sao cầu thủ của Đắk Lắk chỉ có tên, không có họ?. ithethao. 29 November 2023. vi.
  6. Web site: Watch This Rad Feminist Short Film of Girls Playing Soccer in Jodhpur.
  7. News: McElwee . Molly . Canada international Quinn comes out as transgender . The Telegraph . 23 September 2020 . 9 September 2020.
  8. Web site: Frequently Asked Questions About the Bad Boys of Magic . Pennandteller.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20070813090329/http://pennandteller.com/sincity/penn-n-teller/faq.html#Teller . 13 August 2007 . Teller's full legal name is just Teller. He has one of the few US passports that has been issued with a single name. . dead.
  9. Book: Historical Dictionary of Wrestling – John Grasso – Google Books . 6 March 2014. 9780810879263 . April 11, 2014. Grasso . John .
  10. Book: R.D. . Bryan . Reynolds . Alvarez . 2014 . The Death of WCW: 10th Anniversary Edition of the Bestselling Classic — Revised and Expanded . ECW Press . 978-1770411753. R.D. Reynolds. Bryan Alvarez.
  11. Web site: Starbucks Everywhere. starbuckseverywhere.net. 2018-01-03.
  12. Web site: Aubrey. Elizabeth. Kanye West officially changes his name to 'Ye'. October 18, 2021. October 19, 2021. The Independent. en-GB.